Majors, Minors, and Areas of Study Archives for Minor

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Majors, Minors & Areas of Study

Environmental Sustainability

Sustainability – the science of smarter survival

Sustainability is the key that will allow humans to survive and thrive here on Earth in the face of so many dire environmental problems. UMW’s environmental sustainability minor program explores strategies for making responsible decisions to reduce negative impacts and ensure the conservation of our natural resources through environmental, social, economic, and cultural lenses. Examine society’s relationship with nature. Analyze methods of resolving resource issues.

Areas of Study

UMW’s minor in environmental sustainability has relevancy to all majors in today’s world. Take core courses for a foundation in environmental science. Then choose from electives carefully selected from such disciplines as biology, environmental science, geology, economics, geography, philosophy, and more to adapt the program to your own strengths, interests, and career goals.

Career Opportunities

There is steady demand in industry, government, education, and advocacy organizations for people trained in the environmental sciences. Many people who study environmental sustainability work in conservation, education and communication, environmental consulting, environmental management and planning, and parks and recreation. Many find work with government organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S Forest Service, private sector businesses like Seventh Generation and Whole Foods, and nonprofits like the Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club.

Internships

Up to three credits from internships available through UMW’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences can count towards the minor. The department has helped students land recent internships with the City of Fredericksburg, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Resources Conservation Services, Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries, Friends of the Rappahannock, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Marstel-Day LLC, U.S. Geological Survey, Greenpeace, and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

Departmental honors are available in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, which hosts the environmental sustainability minor. Students who have completed Special Problems in Environmental Science or an individual study in geology may pursue an honors research project, including field or laboratory work, and resulting in a written thesis and oral defense.

The environmental sustainability minor requires 22-25 credits.

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, which hosts the environmental sustainability minor, offers scholarships to aid students in their studies. For a complete list of scholarships offered at UMW, visit the Office of Financial Aid.

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Majors, Minors & Areas of Study

Pre-Conservation in Fine Art

Protect the irreplaceable.

Michelangelo’s masterpieces on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, da Vinci’s The Last Supper, Rembrandt’s The Night Watch – all examples of extraordinary works preserved to be appreciated for the ages. UMW’s pre-conservation in fine art minor program – open to art history, studio art, and chemistry majors – combines these disciplines. Learn to apply basic chemistry to artifact deterioration, evaluate conservation strategies, understand the ethics of art preservation, and advocate to preserve cultural heritage. This UMW program is designed to prepare students for graduate programs in conservation.

Areas of Study

The pre-conservation in fine art minor at Mary Washington combines the disciplines of chemistry, studio art, and art history.

Career Opportunities

UMW’s pre-conservation in fine art minor is designed to prepare students for graduate programs in art conservation. Conservators work in museums, heritage institutions, libraries, archives, laboratories, and government agencies. They are administrators, educators, scientists, technicians, and collections care specialists.

Internships

Internships, offering professional experience outside the classroom, are available to students in UMW’s pre-conservation in fine art minor. Recent studio art majors, for example, have landed internships at the UMW Galleries, Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Visual Arts Center in Richmond, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Whether you major in studio art, art history, or chemistry, Honors status is available to all qualified students in UMW’s pre-conservation in fine art minor.

The minor is open only to Art History, Studio Art and Chemistry majors. The major must have been declared before the student may declare this minor. Requirements depend on selected major.

For art history majors: 28 credit, including 16 credits in chemistry and 12 credits in upper-level art history and studio art courses.

For chemistry majors: 27 credits, including 15 credits in 100- and 200-level art history, and 12 credits from 300-level art history.

For studio art majors: 28 credits, including 16 credits in chemistry and 12 credits from 300-level art history.

The Department of Art and Art History, which hosts UMW’s pre-conservation in fine art minor program, offers scholarships, undergraduate research grants, and departmental awards. A complete list of scholarship opportunities available at UMW can be found with the Office of Financial Aid.

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Majors, Minors & Areas of Study

Social Justice

Are equality and fairness just an illusion?

UMW’s minor program in social justice attempts to bridge the gap between the ideal and the reality of our social situations. Explore injustices such as cultural imperialism, exploitation, human rights abuses, and physical violence. Study social movements and political philosophy. Become a well-informed citizen with the ability to look at social values and change from multiple perspectives.

Areas of Study

Choose from courses in economics, history, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, geography, and other disciplines. Course titles include Anthropology of Gender; World Regional Geography; Social and Political Philosophy; Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies; Poverty, Affluence, and Equality; Migration Politics in a Globalizing World; History of Sexuality in the U.S.; Racial and Ethnic Relations; and many more.

Career Opportunities

Career options for social justice scholars include activist, community organizer, public policy analyst, conflict resolution specialist, human relations worker, political campaigner, environmental organization worker, mediator, rights advocate, journalist, and lobbyist.

Internships

UMW’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology, which hosts the minor program in social justice, offers students real-world experience through a variety of available internships. Students in the sociology and anthropology programs have held recent internships at Micha Ecumenical Center, Thurman Brisben Homeless Shelter, disABILITY Resource Center, Empowerhouse, Stafford Junction, Refugee Resettlement Services of the Catholic Diocese, Lloyd F. Moss Free Clinic, Rappahannock Legal Services, and many more. Check out the entire list!

Students with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 are eligible to pursue an Honors distinction in sociology. To proceed, students must have completed the appropriate prerequisites to pursue a research project, as well as either History of Social Theory or Contemporary Sociological Theories, and three credits of Individual Study and Research. Students then prepare a formal, written honors project proposal and, if accepted, submit and defend an honors thesis.

Hosted by the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, UMW’s minor program in social justice requires 18 credits, including Introduction to American Studies; four electives, three of which must be upper-level, drawn from at least three disciplines (including economics, history, philosophy, and more); and either Public Sociology (which includes training on participatory action research methods), an approved three-credit internship, or an approved three-credit course within a study abroad program.

UMW’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology, which hosts the minor program in social justice, offers several scholarships. For more information on scholarships offered at UMW, visit the Office of Financial Aid.

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Majors, Minors & Areas of Study

Practical Ethics

Who decides what’s right or wrong?

Ethics are key to understanding some of the most challenging and controversial social problems of the 21st century. In UMW’s minor program in practical ethics, you’ll explore the fundamental theories, concepts, and methodologies of ethics; ways of identifying and analyzing contemporary moral issues; and how theory and practice inform one another. How do you feel about reproductive technologies, euthanasia, the treatment of animals, sustainability? Question your own beliefs, and learn how reason and argument affect everyday ethical decision-making.

Areas of Study

UMW’s practical ethics minor is wrapped around a core of philosophy courses, including practical, medical, and environmental ethics; social and political philosophy; and introduction to feminism. Participants must also choose classes from a variety of disciplines, including education, geography, and sociology. Courses include business and computer ethics, global environmental problems, medical sociology, and many more.

Career Opportunities

Able to identify ethical issues and evaluate ethical arguments, practical ethics minors catch the attention of employers and grad schools. A background in practical ethics can be useful in any field, particularly law, business, medicine, ecological and resource science, and government or community work.

Internships

Undergraduates have opportunities to complete research and present at conferences, making valuable contacts for the professional world.

Students with an overall GPA of at least 3.2, and at least 3.5 in philosophy, are eligible for Honors. To achieve the distinction, a student must take Research in Philosophy (PHIL 485) during their senior year, producing and defending a substantial written thesis.

UMW’s practical ethics minor requires at least 18 credit hours, including at least three philosophical ethics courses and at least three additional courses in a variety of disciplines, including anthropology, education, geography, religion, and sociology. At least three courses must be at the 300 or 400 level.

The Department of Classics, Philosophy, and Religion, which hosts the practical ethics minor, offers several scholarship opportunities. In addition, the Office of Financial Aid maintains a complete list of all scholarship opportunities available to UMW students.

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Majors, Minors & Areas of Study

Neuroscience

Do you think about how people think?

UMW’s interdisciplinary minor in neuroscience deepens your understanding of the brain and nervous system. Learn how nerves form networks and how these connections control behavior. Explore stress, memory, psychiatric disorders, and all the varied mysteries surrounding the human mind. The neuroscience minor is particularly useful to psychology and biology majors, helping them stay aware of scientific progress and prepare for emerging career opportunities and graduate programs in neuroscience or psychobiology.

Areas of Study

UMW’s minor program in neuroscience, pairing the studies of biology and psychology, explores the intricacies of the brain and nervous system and how they work together to control behavior. The program consists for course in cellular biology, neurobiology, cognitive neuroscience, biological psychology, and psychopharmacology.

Career Opportunities

The neuroscience minor is a good fit for those interested in a psychiatric healthcare career, especially psychiatry, pharmacology, psychiatric mental health nursing, clinical psychology, or cognitive rehabilitation. Advances in neural imaging technology, molecular genetics, and bioinformatics – along with growing interest in psychiatric disorders, traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, and Alzheimer’s – are growing demand for professionals trained in neuroscience. The study of neuroscience, even without an advanced degree, can lead to a career in pharmaceuticals, health education, forensic science, residential counseling, and many other exciting fields.

Internships

The Department of Psychological Science, which hosts UMW’s neuroscience minor, offers internships at such area organizations as Autism Outreach Inc., Empowerhouse, Fredericksburg Counseling Services, Mental Health America of Fredericksburg, the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board, and many others. A complete list can be found through the Department of Psychological Science.

Psi Chi is the International Honor Society in psychology, the department that hosts UMW’s minor in neuroscience. Membership is open to graduate and undergraduate men and women. A member of the Association of College Honor Societies and an affiliate of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society, Psi Chi provides academic recognition of its inductees through membership, fosters creative development, augments and enhances the regular curriculum, provides practical experience and fellowship, and offers regional conventions, research award competitions, and certificate recognition programs. For details, visit Psi Chi’s website, or contact a Psi Chi officer.

The neuroscience minor at UMW requires 17 credits, including four credits each of cellular biology and neurobiology, and three credits each of cognitive neuroscience, biological psychology, and psychopharmacology.

The Department of Psychological Science, which hosts UMW’s neuroscience minor program, offers scholarships to qualified students. The Office of Financial Aid also keeps a complete list of all scholarships available to UMW students.